Robert Gottlieb: “I Enjoy Working With Amazon.”

While many in publishing will disparage Amazon, agent Robert Gottlieb admits to being a fan. The legendary agency who worked his way up at the William Morris Agency and discovered such authors as Tom Clancy, said in a podcast interview with Copyright Clearance Center’s Chris Kenneally, that he uses Amazon to look for new authors.

Here is an excerpt from the interview:

“I enjoy working with Amazon. They’re innovative. They are giving authors a very, very good deal on the e-book rights to their books as part of the overall publishing matrix that you arrange with them. That’s a very important factor because it’s not just a front list business, but it’s a back list business, and as the mass market business continues to decline, the back list business will be in the e-book business, and those publishers who are giving the most advantageous royalties in the e-book business are going to be the ones who are the best ones to be in business for authors … I also believe that Amazon has demonstrated the capability across its platform to work on authors’ behalf in terms of marketing and promotion, which has not existed previously in our industry.”